ABBA star Bjorn Ulvaeus has referred to new album ‘Voyage’ as “the follow-up” to their 1981 album ‘The Visitors’.

The group made their sensational return with the announcement of their ninth album ‘Voyage’ – their first in 40 years – and accompanying live concert experience in London. 

After dropping the new tracks I Still Have Faith In You and Don’t Shut Me Down, Bjorn spoke with Zane Lowe on Apple Music about the project, which he says relates to ABBA’s early work. 

“That Benny and I wrote and we recorded the songs as best we could and it just happened to be a lot of people out there who liked it,” he explains. “And we’re doing the same thing now. 

“We’re holding our noses and diving. Anything can happen. We don’t know how this will be received, we just know that we’re as proud of this as we were back in the ’70s. 

“This is the followup of ‘The Visitors’. It’s 40 years apart, but it’s still very much the latest album, if you know what I mean. 

“I don’t see it as a standalone thing. We take all that wonderful baggage that we have with us into this production, as well.”

‘The Visitors’ features the hit singles One of Us, When All is Said and Done and Head Over Heels. 

According to Bjorn, the group never officially split – they only planned to take a break, which lasted four decades. 

“We ended, and for creative reasons,” he recalls. “We ended because we felt the energy was running out in the studio, because we didn’t have as much fun in the studio as we did this time. And that’s why we said, ‘Let’s go on a break’. 

“And we never said, ‘This is it. We’ve split and we’ll never reunite again.’ We never said that. We just said back then that we’d go on a break. 

“And this break has now ended. Sounds strange…”

‘Voyage’, due November 5, is available to pre-order now on CD, vinyl and cassette.